If we really aren't sure can we take action?

Session: 21. - The Science-Policy Interface in Great Lakes Research

Gail Krantzberg, Engineering and Public Policy, Program, McMaster University, [email protected]

Abstract

This talk reflects on policy decisions that require a significant amount of deliberation where the problem involves one or several of the features below:

•  important consequences
•  uncertainty
•  multiple stakeholders
•  complexity of the decision environment
•  need for accountability

For these types of decisions, science should play a role. Often, however, scientific knowledge is not easily accessible to policy makers. Scientific knowledge available in journal articles and scholarly publications are typically that which scientific peers understand. Knowledge translation could help policy makers address questions that are not easy to answer scientifically. Challenging issues often find uncertainty in scientific knowledge. As a result, there are no unqualified scientific answers, and many answers require responsible expressions of uncertainty. How does a policy maker take action in the face of scientific uncertainty?

1. Keyword
policy making

2. Keyword
Great Lakes basin

3. Keyword
water quality

4. Additional Keyword
science-policy nexus